Silver nanoparticles in aquatic sediments: Occurrence, chemical transformations, toxicity, and analytical methods

Jian Zhao; Xinjie Wang; Son A Hoang; Nanthi S Bolan; M B Kirkham; Jingnan Liu; Xinghui Xia; Yang Li

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126368

Silver nanoparticles in aquatic sediments: Occurrence, chemical transformations, toxicity, and analytical methods

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Sep 15:418:126368. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126368. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Authors

Jian Zhao¹, Xinjie Wang¹, Son A Hoang², Nanthi S Bolan³, M B Kirkham⁴, Jingnan Liu¹, Xinghui Xia¹, Yang Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China.
² Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Division of Urban Infrastructural Engineering, Mien Trung University of Civil Engineering, Phu Yen 56000, Viet Nam.
³ Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.
⁴ Department of Agronomy, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, United States.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: liyang_bnu@bnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34329024
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126368

Abstract

Sediments represent the major sink for released silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aquatic environments. It is well known that the environmental behavior and toxicity of AgNPs in sediments are governed by their specific chemical species instead of their total concentration. This review focuses on various chemical transformations of AgNPs in sediments, which have not been well outlined before. We first outline the concentrations of AgNPs in sediments. The predicted concentrations are 1-5 µg kg^-¹ in most model studies. Once enter sediments, AgNPs are transformed to different species (e.g., Ag₂S, Ag-humic substance complexes, AgCl, and Ag⁺) during multiple chemical transformations, such as oxidative dissolution, sulfidation, chlorination, and complexation. Those chemical behaviors mitigate the toxicity of AgNPs by reducing their availability and decreasing Ag⁺ release. Benthic invertebrates and microbes are prone to be affected by AgNPs. AgNPs are found to be accumulated in sediment-dwelling organisms and transferred to higher trophic levels along the food web. Besides X-ray absorption spectroscopy, reliable separation procedures coupled with detection techniques, are powerful tools that characterize the speciation of AgNPs in sediments. More research is needed to investigate diverse chemical transformations in various sediments through development of novel techniques and mathematical models.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Sediment; Sequential extraction; Silver nanoparticles; Speciation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Geologic Sediments
Metal Nanoparticles* / toxicity
Models, Theoretical
Silver / analysis
Silver / toxicity
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Silver